Projectile Launcher

ABSTRACT

An apparatus to launch projectiles such as paintballs, BBs, grenades, rocket foam and others. The apparatus uses a cordless nailer fuel cell to provide combustible material to a fan-assisted combustion chamber; the combustible is ignited generating energy to propel the projectile out of the apparatus.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is related to and claims priority to U.S. ProvisionalPatent Application for “Projectile Launcher”, Ser. No. 61/186,032,Filled on Jun. 11, 2009 by the present inventor which is herebyexpressly incorporated into this application by this reference thereto.

BACKGROUND Prior Art

The following is tabulation of some prior art that presently appearsrelevant:

Us Patent Documents 2,665,421 A January 1954 Temple 2,947,221 A August1960 Griffin et al. 3,202,055 A August 1965 Butler et al. 3,255,669 AJune 1966 Olofsson 3,343,455 A September 1967 Lohr 3,346,984 A October1967 Lohr 3,728,937 A April 1973 Nelson et al. 3,777,382 A December 1973Brunelle 4,043,248 A August 1977 Bulman et al. 4,109,557 A August 1978Zaucha 4,161,133 A July 1979 Black et al. 4,365,471 A December 1982Adams 4,377,991 A March 1983 Liesse 4,510,748 A April 1985 Adams4,616,622 A October 1986 Milliman 4,665,868 A May 1987 Adams RE32452EJuly 1987 Nikolich 4,712,379 A December 1987 Adams 4,759,318 A July 1988Adams 4,821,683 A April 1989 Veldman 4,838,142 A June 1989 Birk4,852,459 A August 1989 Bulman 4,905,634 A March 1990 Veldman 4,949,621A August 1990 Stephens 5,125,320 A June 1992 Zielinski 5,140,892 AAugust 1992 Koine 5,149,908 A September 1992 Schadow et al. 5,199,626 AApril 1993 Terayama et al. 5,257,614 A November 1993 Sullivan 5,333,594A August 1994 Robinson 5,361,700 A November 1994 Carbone 5,377,628 AJanuary 1995 Adams 5,398,591 A March 1995 Gay 5,462,042A October 1995Greenwell 5,499,567 A March 1996 Gay 5,511,333 A April 1996 Farrell5,540,194 A July 1996 Adams 5,608,179 A March 1997 Voecks et al.5,613,483 A March 1997 Lukas et al. 5,769,066 A June 1998 Schneider5,771,621 A June 1998 Rogers 5,771,875 A June 1998 Sullivan 5,845,629 ADecember 1998 Ratliff D410182S May 1999 Etter et al. 5,967,133 A October1999 Gardner et al. 5,988,153A November 1999 Yoshimura 6,003,504 ADecember 1999 Rice et al. 6,006,704 A December 1999 Phillips et al.6,016,945 A January 2000 Phillips et al. 6,016,946 A January 2000Phillips et al. 6,019,072 A February 2000 Phillips et al. 6,138,656 AOctober 2000 Rice et al. 6,233,928 B1 May 2001 Scott 6,343,599 B1February 2002 Perrone 6,371,099 B1 April 2002 Lee 6,418,920 B1 July 2002Marr 6,474,326 B1 November 2002 Smith et al. 6,491,002 B1 December 2002Adams 6,634,325 B1 October 2003 Adams 6,647,969 B1 November 2003 Adams6,679,155 B1 January 2004 Yaschur et al. 6,755,159 B1 June 2004 Adams etal. 7,254,914 B2 August 2007 Lund et al. 2002/0088449 A1 July 2002Perrone 2002/0108585 A1 August 2002 Davis 2002/0134069 A1 September 2002Adams 2002/0134345 A1 September 2002 Adams 2002/0144498 A1 October 2002Adams 2003/0005918 A1 January 2003 Jones 2003/0110758 A1 June 2003 Adams2003/0131809 A1 July 2003 Adams 2004/0031382 A1 February 2004 Ogram2004/0144012 A1 July 2004 Adams 2004/0144357 A1 July 2004 Adams2006/0032487 A1 February 2006 Tippmann et al. 2006/0266206 A1 November2006 Lund et al. 2007/0062363 A1 March 2007 Broersma 2008/0190275 A1August 2008 Tippmann 7,665,396 B1 February 2010 Tippmann

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates generally to methods and apparatus forlaunching projectiles. In particular, the present invention uses thecombustion of fuel provided by a cordless nailer fuel cell, to launchthe projectiles. In certain embodiments the present invention relatesmore specifically to a foam rocket and grenade launcher and to methodsfor, and devices capable of launching projectiles such as paintballs,BBs, grenades, rocket foam and others.

BACKGROUND Prior Art

Currently, the state of art for launching frangible projectilestypically involves the use of compressed gas. This gas is releasedinside of an apparatus, and the expansion of this gas propels theprojectile from the apparatus. Many different non-lethal projectiles(BBs, pellets, airsoft BBs, darts, foam rockets, less-lethal, etc.), arealso launched using Co2 or compressed air.

In Paintball gaming, a player have to carry a paintball marker, a rocketlauncher or a grenade launcher typically outfitted with a heavycompressed gas tank and supplies of paintballs, rockets, grenades etc. .. . .

Compressed gas tanks are big and heavy, and it is almost impossible tothe player to carry an extra tank, to replace the empty one during thegame, because those tanks are attached to the gun using a threadedinlet, it takes a lot of time to unscrew the empty one and screw thefull one. The compressed gas tanks are limited to a small number ofshots, and many times the player can not finish the game because the gastank is empty before the end of the game. To solve the problem ofcarrying large and heavy extra tanks, some companies in the paintballindustry and some inventors are designing launchers that ignite acombustible gas such as propane or mapp gas to increase the number ofshots per tank, and eliminate refilling tanks for subsequent use. Allthe prior art patents and applications listed, such “US 2008/0190275 A1from Tippmann, Jr”, “US 2006/0032487 A1 from Tippmann, Jr” and U.S. Pat.No. 7,665,396 B1 issued to Tippmann, Jr on Feb. 23, 2010, relate to alauncher that uses a combustible gas tank (Propane or Mapp gas) toincrease the number of shots per tank and eliminate the need to carryextra tanks, but you still have to carry one tank that is feeding thelauncher (Propane tank or mapp gas tank) and those tanks are heavy andbig.

All the combustion powered launchers on the prior art, relates to anapparatus that uses some source of a combustible gas such as mapp gas orpropane to propel a projectile, all those apparatus have built in athreaded gas inlet to screw a gas tank, means to regulate the gaspressure on the launcher, means to metering the gas intake, means toinject this gas on the chamber, and when the gas tank is attached to thelauncher said launcher is pressurized by a combustible gas, and everytime that the player removes the tank from the launcher it leaks aconsiderable amount of gas.

It is a concern about safety, because after each game the player needsto clean the launcher, and to do this most of time is necessary todisassembly some parts, clean and put back together and if it has anysmall problem with consumable part such as o-ring or a seal, or theplayer which usually is not a gun technician, fail to properlyreassembly the launcher, it can result in a leak of a large volume ofcombustible gas which is enough to cause a fire or a major explosion ina right condition and space such as a player's car or player's bedroom.

The application # US 20070062363 A1 from Breersma Lester, the inventoruses the term “fuel cell” to describe a can filled with some combustiblegas. On the summary of the same application, the inventor declares thatsaid invention is a paintball marker apparatus with a fuel connectionsystem, a fuel handling system, and a fuel injection system. On theclaim number eleven of the same application the inventor claims.

“The apparatus of claim 10, the release device comprising: a fueladapter for sealing to the fuel cell; and a fuel pin adapted to puncturethe fuel cell providing the initial flow of the combustible materialfrom the fuel cell”., which definitely proves that the inventor does notanticipate or plane to use a cordless nailer fuel cell. The fuel cell Iuse, such as described on U.S. Pat. No. 5,115,944 from Nikolich, has themetering valve provided by the manufacture attached on it. It has ametering valve stem 115A as shown on FIG. 1 to connect on the launcherwhich does not need any of these systems to control the combustibleflow, combustible pressure, does not need to be sealed, and does notneed to be punctured to release the fuel. Which proves that the priorart inventors do not anticipate, plane or mention to use the same orsimilar cordless nailer fuel cell that I use on my embodiments.

Another consideration about all prior art apparatus is the fact of allrelates to a launcher that uses a chamber with a piston to mix the fueland air when it is moved in some direction, the piston is moved again toexpel the gases resultants of the combustion out of the chamber and todraw fresh air for a new combustion. Usually to have a piston movingfrom one side to another side of chamber, we need almost the same lengthof the chamber, to house a driver means, and it causes a problem when weneed to make a commercially acceptable size of marker.

Another problem with the apparatus listed on prior art, is thatcombustion generates a lot of heat, and to keep the marker at useful andsafe temperature, the inventors are using fins, and it makes the markereven bigger. Another consideration about the prior art is that, evenwhen the invertors broadly describe that their apparatus one day may useliquid combustible, none of them show or describe any means to handle,metering, injecting, or atomizing liquid fuel. As described on thepatent of the fuel cell that I use in all embodiments of my invention,U.S. Pat. No. 5,115,944 from Nikolich, titled “Fluid dispenser having acollapsible inner bag”, these fuel cell dispense a hydrocarbon fluid nota gas.

For those skilled on the art will be easy to see that all those listedin the prior art relates to apparatus that use some source ofcombustible gas, and their designs does not show or describe anymechanism or any system capable to metering, inject and atomize a liquidfuel.

OBJECTS AND ADVANTAGES

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is a projectile launcherthat uses a cordless nailer fuel cell with a fan-assisted combustionchamber to propel projectiles, the use of fuel cell will allow to builtmarkers that don't use compressed gas tanks, reducing the overall sizeand weight in a half. Several advantages can be eminent for thoseskilled on the art; I list some of them. My invention relates to a newand improved internal combustion launcher that solve all the problemsdescribed on prior art.

A fan-assisted chamber is a combustion chamber with at least one fan orat least one rigid or flexible vane and means to operate it, to createany kind of gas transport, turbulence or change of pressure inside ofsaid chamber, it's better, more reliable, cheaper and smaller. TheLauncher is powered by cordless nailer fuel cell, such as described onU.S. Pat. No. 5,115,944 or similar. The fuel usually is a liquidhydrocarbon fuel, and the amount is about 0.64 oz for small canister,and about 1.28 oz for the large canister, which is safer because it'sliquid and because of small amount.

The fuel cell is very small and safe;

The player can easily carry an extra fuel cell to replace during thegame.

One large fuel cell measures about 6.5″L×1.3″D and can shoot 2.400times; A large CO2 tank is ten times bigger and can shoot 500 timesonly.

The metering valve is located on the fuel cell, and it is replaced withthe fuel cell, eliminating the risk of leak by defective or consumedvalves and o-rings on the gun.

The Launcher is never pressurized, only thing is pressurized is the fuelcell.

The fuel cell can be removed and replaced without any leak;

There are no threads on the fuel cell which can be replaced in secondsduring the game;

The launcher is smaller and lighter because it uses a fan-assistedchamber instead of a piston. The Launcher using a fan-assisted chamberdoesn't need to have a large cooling fin, because the fan is also usedto cool it down.

Using a fan-assisted chamber, It doesn't need to use a piston to mix thefuel and air within the chamber; and after the shot it doesn't need tomove the piston through the whole chamber to remove, or scavenge,combustion by-products. It makes this launcher a lot lighter, faster,reliable, smaller and cheaper to manufacture.

The cordless nailer fuel cell is already available on the hardwarestores, manufactured by companies such as Paslode, Hitachi, Max USA,Tyrex, Ramset, Duo-Fast, Porter Cable and others.

There are several other advantages but the fact that projectilelaunchers such as paintball marker will not have to use tanks ofcompressed gas anymore, represents a huge improvement on the paintballand similar games.

SUMMARY

The present invention relates to a projectile launcher designed to use acordless nailer fuel cell with provided metering valve to supplycombustible material to a fan-assisted combustion chamber.

I discover that the cordless nailer fuel cell such as described on U.S.Pat. No. 5,115,944 and similar provides an effective and safe way tofeed the combustion launchers, it is safe, small, cheap, and can befound on hardware stores. The new launchers such paintball markers,rocket launchers, grenade launchers, and others can use this smallcanister called fuel cell instead of a large tank of propane or mapp gasdescribed on prior art. Another advantage of using those fuel cells isthat each one came with a disposable metering valve, which provide thesame amount of the fuel every time and it is replaced with each new fuelcell. Because the fuel cell already have the metering valve on it, thelauncher is never pressurized, and the operator can remove and replacethe fuel cell on the launcher in seconds during the game without anyleak, It just set on the launcher, without time consuming threads ordecompression procedures.

The launchers can be lighter, safer and cheaper because it does not needto have a pressure regulator, injection system, metering valve or largethreaded gas inlets built on it; it's all on the fuel cell. Most ofdesigns on the prior art uses at least one piston to move back andforward mixing fuel and air, and after the combustion of the gas, thepiston is moved again to exhaust the gases resultants, and to draw freshair into the chamber. After innumerous tests I conclude that this kindof chamber may work well with propane or mapp gas, but it doesn't workproperly with the fuel cells. Instead of to use piston or any partmoving back or forward, my embodiments uses a fan-assisted chamber.

The method to propel the projectiles using the principals of myinvention is: An operator loads a projectile on a launching area andpulls the trigger; the chamber is closed; an electronic controllerstarts at least on fan inside said chamber, and the fuel is injectedfrom the fuel cell in the chamber; the turbulence generate by the fanmix fuel and air. The electronic controller sends an electrical pulse togenerate a spark on a spark plug located inside of chamber, igniting themixture; the expansion of gases propels the projectile from thelauncher; the chamber is open and the electronic controller keep the fanworking for a predetermined time to expel the gases resultants of thecombustion, to cool the combustion chamber and another predeterminedtime to draw fresh air to the next combustion; finally the electroniccontroller turn off the fan.

The present invention will be described with an illustrative embodimentof a rocket and grenade launcher, designed to launch a foam rockets, andalso designed to launch all kinds of projectiles such (paintballs, BBs,non-lethal, less-lethal, rubber balls, etc. . . . ) previously loaded ona specific shell (grenade) and loaded on the muzzle of the launcher. Ongames such as Paintball, airsoft or other that uses a projectilelaunchers, the name “grenade launcher” is used to describe an apparatuswhich the operator load a shell (grenade shell) with appropriatedprojectiles for every kind of game.

Prior art shells need to be charged with green gas before use, andbecause they need to have a chamber to store the compressed gas, theyalso need to have a release valve; they are very expensive, heavy, andmade of metal to support the pressure. When the operator pulls thetrigger a spring loaded mechanism hit the release valve on the grenadeshell which propels all the projectiles previously loaded in it, usingall the compress gas previously stored in it. But the shell is always onthe launcher and never is launched.

Because prior art shells are heavy, expensive and needs to be filledwith compress gas before use, they have a limited market. To solve allthis problems I invent a new grenade shell which is showed on FIG. 15which does not need to be filled with compressed gas because thelauncher showed on FIG. 5 generates pulses of pressure allowing usingthis energy to propel the projectiles preloaded in the shells. Theshells I invented are never pressured, does not use compressed gas onit, and does not need to be metal, allowing to make and sell for afraction of price of the other shells commercially available today.

The grenade shells I invent can vary on sizes, materials and can haveone or more holes in the center area to each different size projectileand for each different model, for example, instead of to have one largehole in the center, it may have five or six 6 mms holes to load dozensof 6 mm bbs on each hole. The position of holes can be changed to createpatterns of shots, such as lines, circles, two lines or any otherpattern. We can for example make five horizontal 6 mm holes and loadthose holes with dozens of bbs each and when the operator shoots, thebbs will be launched making a horizontal line in front of the launcher.FIG. 15 is a perspective view of the grenade shell used as anillustrative non-limiting example, many different sizes andconfigurations will be made appropriated for each use.

In another embodiment such as a airsoft gun, a fan-assisted chamberwhich is a combustion chamber with at least one fan or at least onerigid or flexible vane and means to operate it, to create any kind ofgas transport, turbulence or change of pressure inside of chamber,powered by a cordless nailer fuel cell and metering valve provided with,will be used to propel airsoft BBs.

In another embodiment such as a paintball marker, said fan-assistedchamber powered by a cordless nailer fuel cell and the metering valveprovided with, will be used to propel paintballs.

In another illustrative embodiment the launcher may use saidfan-assisted chamber with one or more electrical motors and one or morefans.

In another illustrative embodiment, said fan-assisted chamber powered bysaid cordless nailer fuel cell and the metering valve provided with,will be used to build an apparatus capable to propel any kind ofprojectiles.

In another illustrative embodiment, said fan-assisted chamber powered bysaid cordless nailer fuel cell and the metering valve provided with,will be used to manufacture a grenade launcher with one barrel, means toload many grenade shells on a revolving mechanism, which at every shotsaid mechanism align the next shell with the barrel.

In another illustrative embodiment, said fan-assisted chamber powered bysaid cordless nailer fuel cell and the metering valve provided with,will be used to manufacture a rocket launcher with a longer barrel thanthe one show on the main embodiment to provide more acceleration andspeed up the projectile; we may provide means to operate the meteringvalve many times to deliver the right amount of fuel that the embodimentneeds.

In another illustrative embodiment the fan-assisted chamber may use oneor more fans operate by any mechanism capable to do it, such aselectrical, mechanical, hydraulic, and pneumatic or electro mechanic.

In another illustrative embodiment, the fan inside of said fan-assistedcombustion chamber can be replaced for one or more fans, and can be usedany type of fan such as axial fan, centrifugal fan, cross flow fan,impellers, propellers, or any revolving vane or vanes used to produceturbulence, ventilation, exhaust, cooling or vacuum.

While the subject of the invention offers several advantages in thecontest of all rocket and grenade launcher commercially available, theprinciples of the invention can be adapted to any kind of launcher suchas Paintball markers, Paintball cannons, Airsoft guns, potato guns orany other.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

The present disclosure will be described hereafter with reference to theattached drawings which are given as a non-limiting example only, inwhich:

FIG. 1 shows a right side view of a short fuel cell, with its disposablemetering valve.

FIG. 2 shows a right side view of a tall fuel cell, with a meteringvalve attached and ready to use.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a short fuel cell.

FIG. 4 is another perspective view of a short size nail gun fuel cell.

FIG. 5 is a left side view of an embodiment of a rocket and grenadelauncher.

FIG. 6 is a left side view of the embodiment of a rocket and grenadelauncher.

FIG. 7 is a right side view of the embodiment of a rocket and grenadelauncher.

FIG. 8 is a left side cross-sectional view of embodiment of rocket andgrenade launcher loaded with a foam rocket on idle position.

FIG. 9 is a left side cross-sectional view of embodiment of rocket andgrenade launcher with the trigger on the middle of its course;

FIG. 10 is a left side cross-sectional view of embodiment of rocket andgrenade launcher with the trigger on the end of its course;

FIG. 11 is a front side perspective view of a main valve body.

FIG. 12 is a back side perspective view of a main valve body.

FIG. 13 is an exploded view of main valve body with all the parts thatgoes attached to it.

FIG. 14 is another angle of exploded view on FIG. 13 and showing thesame parts.

FIG. 15 is a perspective view of a grenade shell with locking pins, ando-ring groves.

FIG. 16 is a front view of a grenade shell showing 3 pins used toconnect and lock the grenade shell into muzzle of the launcher.

FIG. 17 is a perspective side view of the grenade shell

FIG. 18 is a cross-sectional view of a grenade shell loaded withhundreds of BBs.

FIG. 19 is a cross-sectional view of a grenade shell loaded with a sevensmall paintballs and two .68 caliber paintballs.

FIG. 20 is a cross-sectional view of a grenade shell loaded with five.68 caliber paintballs.

FIG. 21 is perspective view of the embodiment of FIG. 5 showing theslots provided on the main body to connect a grenade shell.

FIG. 22 another perspective view of the embodiment of FIG. 5 showing howto insert the grenade shell on the main body.

FIG. 23 is a perspective view of the embodiment of FIG. 5 showing thegrenade shell connected and locked on the main body.

FIG. 24 is an illustrative view of an embodiment of a rocket and grenadelauncher with the grenade shell connected.

FIG. 25 is another angle of an illustrative view of the embodiment ofFIG. 24 showing the grenade shell attached and locked on the launcher.

FIG. 26 is a cross-sectional view of the embodiment of FIG. 24 showinghow the grenade shell seals the combustion chamber area, with theo-rings on it.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows the cordless nailer fuel cell as described on U.S. Pat. No.5,115,944 to Nikolich and commercially available on hardware stores. Thecompanies like Paslode, Hitachi, Max USA, Tyrex, Ramset, Duo-Fast,Porter Cable and others, are selling this cordless nailer fuel cell intwo sizes. The short one with about 0.64 oz and the tall one with about1.32 oz. The short bottle dimensions are about 1.28″×4″ and the tall canis about 1.28″×6.6″ plus the metering valve. As they have differentsizes of cordless nailers, they also have different metering valves todispense the right amount of fuel for each cordless nailer.

The tall red fuel cell will dispense the full amount of fuel (1.32 oz)in 1.200 shots, the tall yellow fuel cell will dispense the full amountof fuel (1.32 oz) in 2.400 shots, and the short yellow fuel cell willdispense the full amount of fuel (0.64 oz) in 1.200 shots. Availablecommercially they have red, yellow, gray, orange metering valves andcouple sizes of cans. In the embodiment of a FIG. 5 is just anon-limiting example where I use the tall red fuel, but for eachembodiment, I will use an appropriated combination of size of the canand metering valve available on the market, and for some embodiments, Iwill order from the fuel cell factories a different size of fuel celland a custom made metering valve to provide the right amount of fuel toeach embodiment.

To easy understand the illustrative and non-limiting example of a rocketand grenade launcher show on FIG. 24, we first need to understand howthe fuel cell and its metering valve works.

FIG. 1 shows that a metering valve 115 has a stem 115A which a meteredamount of combustible fluid came out every time that the stem 115A ispressed against a solid object. To inject another metered amount offuel, we need to release the said stem and press it again. This valve115 provides the same amount of fuel every time. As it has just a stem115A on valve 115 to dispense the stream of combustible fluid, all weneed to connect the fuel cell on the chamber's area 163 (FIG. 8) is around cavity 115B (FIG. 6) on the main body 105 (FIG. 8) with a smallhole connecting it with the combustion chamber, so when the valve stemis pressed on this cavity, the stream of combustible fluid goes throughthe small hole in the cavity to inside of the combustion chamber area163 (FIG. 8).

FIG. 2 shows a illustrative view of a said tall fuel cell with themetering valve 15 attached and ready to use, and as the fuel cell 114always will be used with its metering valve 115, in this application Iwill use the term “fuel cell” or “cordless nailer fuel cell” as acombination of fuel supply plus a metering valve already connected asshown on FIG. 2. FIG. 3, FIG. 4 shows another perspective view of thefuel cell.

FIG. 5 shows how to install the fuel cell on the embodiment of FIG. 24.Turning the fuel cell housing cap 101 by one quarter of turn and pullingit out to have access to the fuel cell housing 2, after that the fuelcell 114 is inserted on the fuel cell housing and at the end of it, hasa fuel inlet 115B to fit a fuel cell stem. To attach the fuel cell stemon this cavity we need first pull up the fuel cell release lever 103which press the fuel cell down to keep the fuel cell stem always on thefuel inlet 115B by a fuel cell spring 17 showed on FIG. 9 after that theoperator can release the fuel cell release lever 103 and replace thefuel cell housing cap 101 on it pushing inside of the housing 102 andturn one quarter of turn to lock.

FIG. 5 shows a side view of the embodiment of a rocket and grenadelauncher show on FIG. 24 and FIG. 25. To easy understand the principalsof the invention on this illustrative and non-limiting embodiment. Ifirst need to show the grenade shell that is used on it.

FIG. 15 shows a grenade shell 137 with two groves 138 to installo-rings, and three pins 139,140,141. Those pins 139,140,141 are used tolock the grenade on the launcher FIG. 23 and to do so, the operatorinserts the grenade shell 137 into the muzzle of the launcher and turnclock wise until the pin 139,140,141 align with the slots 107 on thebody 105 of the launcher allowing to push the grenade shell 137 into thelauncher until the pins 139,140,141 gets to end of slots 107, at thisposition it can be turned clockwise some more, locking the shell 137 onthe main body 105.

To provide more safety on this embodiment of FIG. 24, I design a springmechanism comprised of: a grenade safety body 108, a safety piston 133and a spring 132 (FIG. 26) which the function is to push the grenadeshell 137 out of the launcher muzzle when it is not properly locked onthe slots 107. when the operator pushes the grenade to the end of slots107 one of those pins 139, 140, 141 which on FIG. 26 is the pin 139pushes the piston 133 compressing the spring 132 which stays compresseduntil the grenade is unlocked and the spring 132 pushes the piston 133forward pushing the grenade shell 137 out of the slots 107 through thepin 139.

FIG. 16 shows the front view of the grenade shell 137 and pins 139, 140and 141 used to lock the grenade on the launcher, FIG. 17 shows a leftside view of the grenade shell 137. FIG. 18 for illustrative purposeonly shows a cross sectional view of the grenade shell 137 loaded with ahundred or hundreds of bbs 158 in this sample the user needs to use apiece of paper, cotton, or any other light material 157 to hold the bbsinside of shell 137. FIG. 19 for illustrative purpose only shows a crosssectional view of the grenade shell 137 loaded with two .68 caliberpaintballs 159 and seven .43 caliber paintballs 160 and FIG. 20 forillustrative purpose only shows a cross sectional view of the grenadeshell 137 loaded with 5 paintballs 159. In the embodiment of FIG. 24,all the parts can be made of metal, plastic, glass fiber, carbon fiberor any other reinforced or non-reinforced composite material or anycombination of those, for example we may built a metal main body with alayer of fiber glass or any other heat insulator on the outside, or itcan have a non metal main body with a metal sleeve inside, in anotherexample we may apply a layer of PTFE (Polytetrafluoroethylene) inside ofa main body or even glue a PTFE film inside of main body to low thecoefficient of friction when it is launching rockets. FIG. 5 shows amain body 5, a fuel housing cap 101 which the function is to close thefuel cell housing 102 and to keep the fuel cell 114 on place. It can beremoved to place or to replace a fuel cell on its housing by turning ¼of turn and pulling it out, the same way it can be put back by pushingit inside of a fuel cell housing 102 and turning ¼ of turn to lock it onits idle position.

FIG. 5 also shows a fuel cell housing back cap. 104. A main handle 111which provide a protection for the trigger, support for an electroniclock switch 112, and supports a hand grip 113, the picatinny rail 131 toallow the user to install compatible accessories on it, in this exampleof embodiment it is using vertical handle 109 to provide extra supportand control of the launcher, the main body back cap 6 is locked into themain body 105 by a back cap pin 119.

FIG. 5 also shows the grenade shell security mechanism 108 which has apiston and a spring inside, when the operator is loading the grenadeshell on the muzzle of the launcher, it helps to make sure that thegrenade shell is properly locked on slots 107, if it is not locked, thesecurity mechanism will push it out of the launcher, showing to theoperator that the grenade shell is not properly locked. FIG. 6 is a leftside view of the rocket and grenade launcher embodiment and shows allthe main external components as already described on FIG. 24.

FIG. 7 shows a left side cross section view of an embodiment of FIG. 24,where we can see most of the internal and external components.

FIG. 8 shows that the launcher has a main valve 130 which is open andclosed by pressing or releasing the valve actuator 143 which isconnected on the main valve back plate 124 and to a main valve seal 125.

FIG. 13 shows an exploded view of the main valve used on this embodimentwhich shows the main valve body 130 and all parts that is mounted on it.The fan 120 is connected to a motor shaft extension 145 which isconnected to a electric motor 122 which is inserted on the main valvebody 130 and it is screwed on place by screws 153,154. The main valveback plate 125 is screwed on two main valve rods 148, 149 which hold themain valve seal 125 on place. These two rods 148, 149 are mounted on themain valve body 130 through the holes which have on the back part of ita cavity to install two main valve springs 151, 152 and it is connectedto a main valve actuator 143 by screws 155, 156. The function of thesetwo springs are to close the valve when the trigger 110 is moved fromits idle position as shown on FIG. 8 and FIG. 9.

FIG. 13 shows a valve switch 150 which is activated every time the valveis closed, when the actuator 143 is released, the valve switch 150 isalso released. The main valve body 130 as show on FIG. 11 has some inletports 172 that go through its body, allowing the passage of air from theback part of the launcher to inside of the chamber. When the trigger 110is on idle position, it pushes the main valve actuator 130, the mainvalve back plate 124 and main valve seal 125 forward, allowing the airto flow through the main valve body 130 and through holes on the mainvalve seal 125 and finally through the valve black plate 124.

In this embodiment I use on the main valve body 130 an electrical motor122 powered by batteries 128. This electrical motor is controlled by anElectronic controller 127. The valve switch 150 installed on main valvebody 130 informs the controller when the main valve is open or closed,and it drives a fan 120 which in this embodiment is used to generatesome turbulence when mixing air and fuel, and after the combustionoccur, to expels the by-products, cool the chamber down and draw freshair from the back of the launcher through the main valve 130. As shownon FIG. 8 the trigger 110 is a long lever which goes from the handle111, through the main body and it is hold by a trigger pin 136 on thefuel cell housing 102, it is also connected on fuel injection lever 116and on fuel cell release lever 103. The trigger 110 is kept on idleposition by the main spring 129 installed on main handle 111 which onthis position is pushing the main valve actuator 143 forward keeping themain valve 130 open.

The method to launch a projectile on this embodiment follows thissequence. Load a grenade shell 137 or a foam rocket 142 to close thechamber area 163; start pulling the trigger 110 so the main valveactuator 143 on the main valve body 130 is released closing the mainvalve; sealing the combustion chamber 163, and activate the main valveswitch 150 which inform the electronic controller 127 to start the fan120 to generate turbulence in the chamber area 163; waiting for the fuelfrom the fuel cell 114. The fuel cell injection lever 116 is linked tothe trigger 110 and when the operator pulls it to a middle courseposition, it pushes the metering valve 115 down through the fuel cellrelease lever 103 and a metered amount of fuel is injected on the backof the fan 120 inside of chamber area 163.

The combustible is mixed with fresh air on the chamber area 163 by theturbulence generated by said fan 120 and when the trigger 110 is pulledto the end of its course as shown on FIG. 10 the trigger switch 118 isactivated, which inform the electronic controller 127 to generate aspark or the spark plug 123 and ignite the fuel on the chamber area 163which generate a pulse of pressure and propels the projectile 142 out ofthe launcher. In this situation it has the front side of the chamberarea 163 open because we don't have a projectile blocking it anymore asshown FIG. 10, but the main valve 130 still closed not allowing the fan120 to move air through the main valve 130 to scavenge the chamber area163. When the trigger 110 is released as shown on FIG. 8 the main valveactuator 43 is pushed forward opening the main valve 130 anddeactivating the valve switch 150 which informs the electroniccontroller to keep the fan 120 working for a predetermined time, toscavenge the combustion by-products, cool the chamber 163 and draw freshair for the next combustion. After this time the electronic controller127 shuts the fan 120 off and the launcher is ready for the nextlaunching.

In another illustrative embodiment, the fuel cell housing 102 will belocated on the back side of the launcher sometimes inside of a buttstockon FIG. 27 for illustrative purpose only we have a launcher with abuttstock 165, a fuel cell 114 a metering valve 115 and the injectionmechanism 167 which is pushed by a piston 166 lifting the fuel cell 114as shown of FIG. 27A. The small electric motor is inside of the back cap134 and a fan 120 is used to assist the chamber 163.

In another illustrative embodiment show on FIG. 28 we have the fuel cellhousing 102 located inside of handle 111, it may has a square or a roundchamber 163 with one or more electrical motors and one or more fans 120on this illustration we have a embodiment of a paintball gun with abarrel 161, a paintball inlet 162 a battery set 128 electroniccontroller 127 and High voltage coil 126.

In another embodiment, it may has the fuel cell housing 102 located onthe lower portion of the launcher in front of the handle 111 aligned ornot aligned with. The illustration of FIG. 29 shows an example of thisembodiment where we may use one or more electrical motors 122 and one ormore fans 120 to assist the chamber 163.

Reference numerals used throughout the detailed description and thedrawings correspond to the following elements:

Fuel cell housing cap 101 Fuel cell housing 102 Fuel cell release lever103 Fuel cell housing back cap 104 Main body 105 Main body back cap 106Slots 107 Grenade safety body 108 Vertical handle 109 Trigger 110 Mainhandle 111 Electronic lock switch 112 Hand grip 113 Fuel cell 114Metering valve 115 Metering valve stem 115A Fuel inlet 115B Fuelinjection lever 116 Fuel cell spring 117 Trigger switch 118 Back cap pin119 Fan 120 Main valve O-rings 121 Motor 122 Spark plug 123 Main valveback plate 124 Main valve seal 125 High voltage coil 126 Electroniccontroller 127 Batteries 128 Main spring 129 Main valve body 130Picatinny rail 131 Spring 132 Safety piston 133 Back cap 134 TriggerKnob 135 Trigger pin 136 Grenade shell body 137 Grenade shell o-rings138 Grenade shell pin 139 Grenade shell pin 140 Grenade shell pin 141Foam Rocket 142 Main valve actuator 143 Fan Screw 144 Motor shaftextension 145 Back plate screw 146 Back plate screw 147 Main valve rod148 Main valve rod 149 Valve switch 150 Main valve spring 151 Main valvespring 152 Screw 153 Screw 154 Screw 155 Screw 156 Light material 157BBs 158 0.68 caliber paintball 159 0.43 caliber paintball 160 Barrel ofFIG. 28 161 Paintball inlet 162 Combustion chamber area 163 Valveembodiment of FIG. 27 164 Buttstock 165 Charge piston of embodiment ofFIG. 27 166 Fuel injector of embodiment of FIG. 27 167 Fuel cell housingcap on FIG. 29 168 Valve on embodiment of FIG. 29 169 Launching area 170Chamber grill 171

The Figures are just illustrative and non-limiting examples of someembodiments that a Cordless nailer fuel cell can be used to providecombustible material to a fan-assisted combustion chamber allowingbuilding many different projectile launchers.

Although the present disclosure has been described with reference toparticular means, materials and embodiments, from the foregoingdescription, one skilled in the art can easily ascertain the essentialcharacteristics of the invention and various changes and modificationsmay be made to adapt the various uses and characteristics withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the invention.

1. An apparatus for launching a projectile using a cordless nailer fuelcell and the metering valve provided with, comprising: A main bodyincluding a combustion area, a launching area, a fuel cell housing, afan-assisted combustion chamber, main valve means controlling the airflow into said chamber and the exhausting of gases of combustion fromsaid combustion chamber, means to provide fuel to said fan-assistedcombustion chamber igniting means to ignite the fuel to launching aprojectile, trigger control means, and a fuel cell release lever.
 2. Theapparatus of claim 1, in which the fuel cell housing is located close tosaid combustion chamber.
 3. The apparatus of claim 1, in which saidfan-assisted combustion chamber includes at least one fan or at leastone rigid or flexible vane and means to operate same, to create of gastransport, turbulence or change of pressure inside of said chamber. 4.The apparatus of claim 1, in which the main valve means includes a mainvalve body with inlet ports and a main valve seal that closes off saidcombustion chamber during combustion and open said ports to permitscavenging of said combustion chamber.
 5. The apparatus of claim 1 inwhich the main valve means includes at least one switch to inform itsstatus.
 6. The apparatus of claim 1, in which the means for providingfuel into said combustion chamber includes the cordless nailer fuel celland said metering valve to introduce a predetermined quantity of fuelinto said combustion chamber.
 7. The apparatus of claim 1, in which themeans to providing fuel into said combustion chamber includes said fuelcell installed in said housing, said metering valve connected to saidfuel cell, and said fuel cell release lever surrounding at least part offuel cell and constructed and arranged to move same, said release leverdefining a depending portion adapted to be contacted by mechanic meansto move said fuel cell and operate said valve to introduce a meteredamount of fuel into the combustion chamber.
 8. The apparatus of claim 1,in which the trigger control means operates said main valve to controlair flow inside of said combustion chamber.
 9. The apparatus of claim 1,in which said trigger control mean includes at least one electronicswitch to control a high voltage coil to provide a high voltage to saidspark plug to ignite the fuel in said combustion chamber.
 10. Anapparatus for launching foam rockets and projectiles previously loadedin muzzle loading grenade shells using a cordless nailer fuel cell andthe metering valve provided with, comprising: A main body including acombustion area, a launching area, a fuel cell housing, main valve meanscontrolling the flow of air into said chamber and the exhausting of thegases of combustion from said combustion chamber, a fan-assistedcombustion chamber formed within said main body having said main valveas one wall, and said grenade shell or said rocket as another wall,means to provide fuel to said combustion chamber and ignite same forlaunching the projectile, trigger control means, a fuel cell releaselever, trigger with fuel cell injector lever, and a connection means forgrenade shells.
 11. The apparatus of claim 10, in which the fuel cellhousing is attached to said main body, close to said combustion chamber.12. The apparatus of claim 10, in which said fan-assisted combustionchamber includes at least one fan or at least one rigid or flexible vaneand controls therefor to operate same, to create of gas transport,turbulence or change of pressure inside of said chamber.
 13. Theapparatus of claim 10, in which the main valve means includes a mainvalve body with inlet ports and a main valve seal that closes off saidcombustion chamber during combustion and open said ports to permitscavenging of said combustion chamber.
 14. The apparatus of claim 10, inwhich the main valve means includes at least one switch to inform itsstatus.
 15. The apparatus of claim 10, in which the means for providingfuel into said combustion chamber includes the cordless nailer fuel celland said metering valve to introduce a predetermined quantity of fuelinto said combustion chamber.
 16. The apparatus of claim 10, in whichthe means to providing fuel into said combustion chamber includes saidfuel cell installed in said housing, said metering valve connected tosaid fuel cell, and said fuel cell release lever surrounding at leastpart of fuel cell constructed and arranged to move same, said releaselever defining a depending portion adapted to be contacted by the fuelinjector lever to move said fuel cell and operate said valve tointroduce a metered amount of fuel into the combustion chamber.
 17. Theapparatus of claim 10, in which the trigger control means operates saidmain valve to control air flow inside of said combustion chamber. 18.The apparatus of claim 10, in which said trigger control mean includesat least one electronic switch to control a high voltage coil to providea high voltage to said spark plug to ignite the fuel in said combustionchamber.
 19. The apparatus of claim 10, in which The connecting means toconnect and lock said grenade shell on muzzle of said main body and asecurity means to eject the grenade shell when it is not properly lockedinto said main body.
 20. A method for launching a projectile from aprojectile launcher using a cordless nailer fuel cell and the meteringvalve supplied with, to supply combustible material inside of afan-assisted combustion chamber, the method comprising the steps of: (a)Loading a projectile on the launching area; (b) Closing off and sealingthe chamber; (c) Starting at least one fan inside of the chamber tocause some turbulence; (d) Operating the fuel cell metering valve toinject the metered amount of fuel inside of said combustion chamberwhich has to have the appropriate volume to work with the amount of fuelthat the fuel cell in use provides; (e) Waiting a predetermined timewhile the combustible and air are mixed by the fan means; (f) Generatinga spark on a spark plug inside of the chamber, which ignites the mixtureand propels the projectile out of the launcher; (g) Opening the chamber;(h) Keeping the fan working for predetermined time; (i) Waiting untilthe gases resultants of combustion are expelled; (j) Waiting until thechamber and launching area cool down; (k) Drawing fresh air within thechamber; (l) Turning the fan off.